History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman. Volume 1 (of 2)

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                       HISTORY OF ANCIENT POTTERY

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                                                                 PLATE I

[Illustration:

  KYLIX BY DURIS.
  THE LABOURS OF THESEUS.
  (BRITISH MUSEUM).
]

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                       HISTORY OF ANCIENT POTTERY
                       GREEK, ETRUSCAN, AND ROMAN

                     BY H. B. WALTERS, M.A., F.S.A.
                          BASED ON THE WORK OF
                              SAMUEL BIRCH

                             IN TWO VOLUMES
                                VOLUME I

                        WITH  300  ILLUSTRATIONS
                      INCLUDING 8 COLOURED PLATES

                             [ILLUSTRATION]

                                 LONDON
                   JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
                                  1905

------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               PRINTED BY
                     HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
                         LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

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                                PREFACE


In 1857 Dr. Samuel Birch issued his well-known work on ancient pottery,
at that time almost the first attempt at dealing with the whole subject
in a comprehensive manner. Sixteen years later, in 1873, he brought out
a second edition, in some respects condensed, in others enlarged and
brought up to date. But it is curious to reflect that the succeeding
sixteen years should not only have doubled or even trebled the material
available for a study of this subject, but should even have
revolutionised that study. The year 1889 also saw the completion of the
excavations of the Acropolis at Athens, which did much to settle the
question of the chronology of Attic vases. Yet another sixteen years,
and if the increase in actual bulk of material is relatively not so
great, yet the advance in the study of pottery, especially that of the
primitive periods, has been astounding; and while in 1857, and even in
1873, it was impossible to do much more than collect and co-ordinate
material, in 1905 Greek ceramics have become one of the most advanced
and firmly based branches of classical archaeology.

It therefore implies no slur on the reputation of Samuel Birch’s work
that it has become out of date. Up till now it has remained the only
comprehensive treatise, and therefore the standard work, on the
subject; but of late years there has been a crying need, especially in
England, of a book which should place before students a condensed and
up-to-date account of Greek vases and of the present state of knowledge
of the subject. The present volumes, while following in the main the
plan adopted by Dr. Birch, necessarily deviate therefrom in some
important particulars. It has been decided to omit entirely the section
relating to Oriental pottery, partly from considerations of space,
partly from the impossibility of doing justice to the subject except in
a separate treatise; for the same reason the pottery of the Celts and
of Northern Europe has been ignored. Part I. of the present work,
dealing chiefly with the technical aspect of the subject, remains in
its main outlines much as it was thirty years ago; but the other
sections have been entirely re-written.